Bickford Theatre Announces New Film Series

The Bickford Theatre at the Morris Museum is launching a new Film Series this season with screenings to include top short films, cinematic excursions into great art, and classic movies. The films will be shown on Wednesday evenings and will feature commentary from experts in their respective fields.

Black Maria Film Festival 2017

The Bickford Film Series begins on Wednesday, November 15, with the final New Jersey screening of the 2017 winning films from the critically acclaimed Black Maria Film Festival. Since its founding in 1981, the Black Maria Film Festival has been celebrating the diversity, invention, and vitality of short films through an international juried film competition. The films encompass four major genres including narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary. Unlike other film festivals such as Sundance which bring filmmakers and their films to one location for recognition, the Black Maria Film Festival takes the winning films to venues all over the world from Morristown, New Jersey to Rome, Italy.

The Film Festival's Executive Director Jane Steuerwald will be the emcee for the Bickford Theatre program and will introduce nine of the winning films from the 2017 entries. The selection includes works such as "The Last Projectionist" a documentary by Brooklyn's Eugene Lehnert, "Oh My" an animated film by Tess Martin of Rotterdam, "Roxy," a narrative work by two European filmmakers, Fabien Cole and Emily Schlesser, and "Exquisite Corps" a celebration of dance by Ohio filmmaker Mitchell Rose.

The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism

On December 6, the festival will feature "The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism," a fascinating documentary about American Impressionism directed by Phil Grabsky and narrated by Gillian Anderson. As Europe reacted against the impressionism of Monet, Degas, and Renoir, Americans embraced it and cultivated their own style. Town and Country Magazine called this film "captivating."

50th Anniversary Film Showcase 2018

The third film in the series, scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the Academy Award nominated films of 1968, fifty years ago. On hand to discuss the film, which has not been announced yet, will be film experts and critics including the New Jersey Film Commission's Executive Director Steve Gorelick.

The Black Maria Film Festival - 2018

Then on April 18, the Black Maria Film Festival returns with the 2018 winning shorts from the juried competition. Entries to the international competition honor the vision of Thomas Edison, New Jersey's most famous inventor and the creator of the motion picture. The specific works to be shown will be announced in 2018.

Exhibitions on Screen - Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing

The Bickford Film Festival concludes on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 with the screening of Vincent Van Gogh: A New Way of Seeing. This film blends reenactment scenes and curatorial interviews from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to explore both Van Gogh the painter and Van Gogh the person. Robin Neal of On the Box called the film "one of the best I've seen depicting the live of Vincent Van Gogh."

About the Bickford Theatre

Tickets for the Bickford Film Series are $15 for the General Public; $12 for Museum Members; and $10 for Students (18 & under or with valid college ID). Tickets may be purchased online at morrismuseum.org, by phone at (973) 971-3706, or in person at the Bickford Theatre Box Office. The Morris Museum's Bickford Theatre is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown, NJ, and offers free parking and full accessibility. Box office hours for phone sales are Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Walk-up hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

About the Morris Museum

Founded in 1913, the Morris Museum is an award-winning, community-based arts and cultural institution which serves the public through high caliber exhibitions in the arts, sciences and humanities. The Museum also offers educational programs, family events, and is home to the Bickford Theatre and its wide range of performing arts offerings. Continuously serving the public since 1913, the Morris Museum has been designated a Major Arts Institution and has received the New Jersey State Council on the Arts' Citation of Excellence, among other awards. The first museum in New Jersey to be accredited, the Morris Museum was re-accredited in 2013 by the American Alliance of Museums.

The Morris Museum is a Blue Star Museum, offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Location & Hours

The Museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown, NJ, and is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday, 12:00 to 5:00pm. In addition, the Museum is open evenings from 5:00 to 8:00pm on the second and third Thursday of the month. Admission to the Museum is $10 for adults and $7 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is always free for Museum members. For more information, call (973) 971-3700, or visit http://www.morrismuseum.org.

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